A substantial group of scholars included works of obedience within the definition of faith. On this account, prayer, charity, and other obedience expand faith's practical composite, while disobedience diminishes it.
الْإِيمَانُ يَزِيدُ وَيَنْقُصُ
Faith increases and decreases.
Statements transmitted from early Muslims and certain reports are invoked for this view, although the attribution and strength of any particular report require separate scrutiny. The bare term “increase” does not yet establish whether what grows is assent's very essence or deeds associated with it.